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Is Obamacare really affordable? Not for the middle class.

Posted: Nov 5, 2016

programs. For the 85% of enrollees with lower incomes, federal subsidies make the premiums somewhat more affordable. Those even closer to the poverty line can get additional subsidies that reduce the deductibles, which can run into the thousands of dollars. But for many middle class Americans -- a single person earning more than $47,520 or a family of four with an income of $97,200 -- the pricey premiums and deductibles mean health care coverage remains out of reach. "The middle class are getting squeezed," said Larry Levitt, senior vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation. "They aren't getting subsidies and these deductibles are hard to afford." This schism is turning Obamacare into another government benefit program for lower- and moderate-income Americans.... ;

The middle class is being squeezed. The goal is a classless - society, well except for the

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Washington elites.

They have to get rid of the middle class like they did in USSR. They stand in the way of "progress."

The middle class has been seriously abused. BO took away our - jobs, homes, health insurance,

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soon h’s going to go after our 401K.

Obamacare, from the point of view of We the People, is quite simply the worst piece of legislation ever enacted. It kills jobs in that more people are shifted to part-time and small firms stay under 50 employees to avoid the requirements. Meanwhile, it causes deductibles to skyrocket. And the biggest insult of all - they exempted themselves from it!

My SIL's parents just got their new rates, from$500 a month - to $940 a month, and that's on

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top of an outrageous deductible.

That's more than their house payment.

I can get a subsidy for family of 2 making $64000 a year - silver plan only $517 a month

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Really, I just don't see what the fuss is all about. If you (a couple) are making more than $65000 a year, I think you can afford your payments. If not, find a different company/plan.

Good grief. People just have to whine and complain though.

Think of what you just said. As long as you qualify for - subsidies, you don't care about the

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rest of us who don't and who are paying for those subsidies.

silver plan - mt

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I wish I could dislike this post more than once. What exactly do you get for your $517 a month? What is your deductible and what all does it cover?

I agree - H2o

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I agree. It depends on whether your state accepted federal funds offered in order to give subsidies. The states that refused did their residents a disfavor, because they will not get subsidies.

Of course, if people make too much money according to the cutoff, they will not get subsidies either, which makes sense.

I have ACA and have a great price and great benefits, and even got a refund 2 months ago, because of the 80/20 rule in ACA. Anything over 80% that the insurance company does not use for your care, gets refunded to you. Can't get any better than that.

Remember, if you like your doctor you can keep your - doctor? That was a lie.

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A couple nights ago I specifically saw El Presidente tell the crowd that the premiums for Obamacare had gone down for the folks getting tax credits, just going up for the others.

Wait a minute!! The "others" are the middle class, the people paying most of the taxes. You and me.

The people getting tax credits are the welfare recipients.

Well, as far as being an MT goes, we - must be lower income

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Because my income AND our income combined as a couple would qualify for subsidies.

It's just a pity if you have a job you have to take the garbage insurance they offer you. That's the crime, not Obamacare.

Is anyone who's an MT making $47,000 anymore? My income halved once my company got bought out by an MTSO.

I'm glad to know Obamacare is there for when/if they finally do either offshore all the work and/or automate the process.

Of course you are glad. You are getting subsidies. For those of us who - aren't it's a nightmare.

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The one thing that does not get discussed or a lot of press is that the way that the system is designed.

There is not a lot of money left in America, the underclass is financially impoverished. The middle class is shrinking and the upper classes don’t participate.

There is, however a large pool of assets in the middle class and some in the lower and underclass that can be grabbed.

The insurance industry is in bed with the government. The government is the enforcer. Insurance price points include the asset busting deductibles.

As insurance price points increase, and medical costs increase, and the government continues to say who gets what, the middle class can no longer afford insurance and they are dumped into Medicaid.

Medicaid pays everything, but is not free but instead dissolves assets to keep the whole ball going.

Anyone with assets this country who cannot bow out of the system will be getting robbed.

Think about what you said--blame the insurance co - we need Medicare for all

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Why pay the insurance companies anything? What do they do for us except skim the money off the top.

Why not just pay the doctor directly and cut out all middlemen, - including the government?

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That's real choice.

Was it Sarah P. who recommended trading chickens for appendectomies? - Choice - nm

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Most doctors have offices with a slew of personnel. - When you go to the doctor

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you are just not paying for the doctor but all the others who work there. These people have families to support and educations to pay off thus the exorbitant prices we have to pay. Many of these people have no education and just have their jobs because they knew someone who worked there. But we as the "customer" still have to pay as if they were all highly trained and educated and were giving us the best bang for our healthcare dollar. Nine times out of 10, the care is mediocre at best and can even set you back as they do not know what they are doing nor do they care. It's your word against theirs and who wins? Cut those middlemen out and you might find some compassionate doctors who will be fair and caring and charge you what you can afford.

Heard that HC was going to force mandatory vaccines on seniors now. She's got an agenda alright, culling of the herd here and elsewhere.

ACA Subsidies - H2o

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Jut FYI, if you are not getting subsidies, it could be that your state did not accept the federal funds that were made available. If that is the case, it is your state not ACA that is preventing people from getting subsidies.

Might be something worth checking into.

So are you saying you actually make $47,000? - and no I do NOT get subsidies

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Because I am NOT able to get Obamacare. The garbage my MTSO offers is required for me to purchase for some reason. And you know they don't get the best plans for their valued employees, no, they get the plans that require the largest deductible and no cost sharing until you reach that insurmountable amount, so just going to the GP even will cost way too much.

If I were able to get Obamacare, my insurance would cost less AND I would actually get way more reasonable terms like affordable co-pays, deductibles, and premiums.

And yes, I would qualify for a subsidy. That's the whole point of Obamacare, or should I say the AFFORDABLE health care act. It's not my fault my MTSO virtually halved my salary and the area I chose to live in is rural and without many well paying jobs.

I have to wonder all these years when people in the higher brackets were getting reasonably priced health insurance premiums while the rest of us were going without, who was subsidizing them?

And yes, I mean those making $47,000 and over. When I made that much (maybe 8 years ago) I paid $300/week for insurance because that's all my company offered comprehensively for a family and I could afford it, kind of, and that was BEFORE the ACA.

I just wish we could all have a choice between our employer insurance and the ACA, I know what I would pick.

Sadly, the people who died from cancer and other diseases - see message

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ended up paying for those with relatively low premiums -- because they were denied insurance or could not afford the inflated premiums for pre-existing conditions (like my mother). The insurance companies did not even seem to know how many people were out there who were suffering and dying because of no insurance and initially underpriced their Obamacare premiums.

I was afraid to use the insurance I was paying for because I was afraid I would get the "pre-existing condition" label.

I cannot believe how stupid the American people are to fall for such a fraud scam as what the health insurance companies are selling us. When the ACA first started up, I was so happy every time a doctor would dictate "patient is a new patient and is here for first-time as he/she now has insurance." Thank God for Obama.

Sorry meant to like - not dislike

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I am wondering when (if ever) the "portability" aspect is supposed to come in to the ACA. That was one of its selling points, that if you changed jobs or decided to work for yourself you could take your health insurance with you.

I am guessing the insurance companies threw a wrench into that one too. Not sure if it is the insurance companies or the MTSOs, but I know for a fact that since the ACA the plans available to us MTs have gotten much worse - deductibles much higher and no copays and also terrible cost sharing. They had to take their pound of flesh.

I know they were only allowed to make a certain percentage of profit, but basically by throwing these huge deductibles into the mix before providing any payout, they are guaranteeing that many policies are now for catastrophic use only for those of us with low pay, even now we are forced to buy it.

So therefore I guess it all adds up to the same thing - they don't make as much profit, but since they are forcing so many of us to pay such high deductibles, the pool of actual patients using preventive care and seeing doctors on a regular basis must go way way down, which is actually good for them, because I guess that is how they are making those same big profits. They don't have to overcharge on the premiums because with the huge deductibles they are discouraging the poors to get treatment.

I know I still don't like taking the "free" physical or the "free" mammogram. Because if something is wrong, what then? Subject to the big deductible I can't pay would be specialist visits, imaging, etc. Better not to know because I just can't afford it. Still.

A bad deal, and the ACA needs to be redone to respond every time they pull something like to prevent it this until they are unable to screw us patients anymore.

The ACA should be a way of providing health care that is fluent and responsive to patients, NOT insurance companies remaining rigid and trying to take take take so they can make big profits.

When red state govs decided not to expand Medicaid and tried to sabotage Obamacare, they were not only doing a disservice to their constituents, they also made it impossible to make the ACA work for the people.

I still think it has great potential and I know it has to be better for those with debilitating chronic illnesses than what was there before. I hope it can be improved upon by President Hillary. Goodness knows what Trump has planned (for anything, for that matter, I'm sure even he doesn't!).

It could have been easily fixed by allowing us to buy insurance - between other states. BTW,

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I work more than an MT job and my husband was dropped to part time because of Obamacare.

Your taxes paid by your second job are going to subsidize - the MT on Obamacare.

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What a country!

Obamacare is where it is because of the republicans in congress - source Fortune Magazine

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but everything gets blamed on Obama, go figure.

here's the link.

Oh please, not one Republican voted for it. Remember, it was - passed "so they could read it."

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Obamacare is all Democrat, not one Republican had anything to do with it. Every time they tried to bring up alternatives Reid and Pelosi wouldn't let it be brought to a vote.

You are right, but the things needed to fix it were also refused - by Republicans

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as well as them trying to defund it at every turn.

No one but republicans to blame! They are making Americans suffer by not doing their job!

What things? How are they making Americans suffer? - They were doing their job by

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not voting for an unconstitutional law. How is that not doing their job?

I think you have it the other way around. Democrats are making - people suffer by eliminating

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competition in health care. By eliminating choice you are destined for medical care designed by bureaucrats who exempt themselves from their own laws.

This is nothing but Medicaid.

If Republicans would get off their ass and do their job - we wouldn't be in half the mess we are in. nm

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.

By that do you mean agreeing with Democrats? Most of them - in Congress do, that's why Trump

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is so popular.

Stop trying to pass the buck.

We need to pass the bill so we can see what's in it. LOL! - I can't believe people fell for that.

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What kind of education system do we have?

New Democrat talking point. Obamacare is a mess because - Republicans won't fix it.

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Obamacare is the Democrats’ disaster. They own it, ALL of it.

The Democrats single-handedly destroyed the health care industry in the US.

The Democrats voted for this abomination in a straight up party line vote. Never forget this.

NO Republicans voted for Obamacare. None!

Any attempt to tweak it, or change it, was met total resistance from the president, to Democrats below him, all the way to dog catcher.

Democrats - from the president down, told lie after lie to sell this catastrophe to the American people. And, somehow got Sir Roberts of SCOTUS to convert the whole thing to a “tax” so it would fit the constitution!

Wow this is even from CNN. Thanks for posting. Every time - someone brings up Obamacare

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here, those getting the subsidies can't seem to see beyond their own situation. Have you noticed that?

Even if you do get a subsidy because you are low , - income, can you afford

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the $5000 deductible? People who qualify for these subsidies are at the poverty level, do you think they have 5K in their savings account for emergencies? Just think of all the $$$$ that gets written off by hospitals. Someone has to pay it and it usually comes out of the state budget and most states are almost bankrupt or already there.

"Those getting the subsidies can't seem to see beyond their own situation." - Exactly

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Do these MTs bragging about how cheap their insurance is realize there are other MTs whose insurance has increased to pay for that? The ONLY people benefitting are those getting subsidies. It should not be like that.

Can you imagine if that is how Obama had presented this plan? "My wonderful new plan will only benefit those who couldn't get insurance before or are making a low wage. The rest of you are screwed."

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